Reviews

  My husband and I enjoyed two back to back cycle tours - Wild Algarve and Castles and Wine, in October 2019. We felt spoiled by the exceptional service provided... read more on these fully supported tours. I can't say enough about our support team, Mario and Jorge in Algarve, Maria and Joanna in Alentejo. Portugal is a beautiful, welcoming country that can stand on its own. It was our guides and van drivers who made the trip extraordinary. They were knowledgeable, fun, easy going yet professional, and truly made our trip awesome. The well maintained hybrid bikes were really appropriate for the variable terrain - we really appreciated having front shocks for the gravel and cobblestones! These tours are not intended for novice cyclists. That being said, one couple on the Castles and Wine Tour were struggling with the (many) hills and with the assistance of Portugal Best Cycling switched to e-Bikes, which made their cycling much more enjoyable. I have no hesitation in recommending Portugal Best Cycling as truly Portugal's BEST. …

  Wine, Food and a great Bike Tour - We weren't experienced bikers but a 2 day tour was the perfect mix of activity and decadence. Day 1 was the more intensive biking day with visits to a farm... read more and classic cars, winery, prickly pear farm and a cork factory. We had a van for support when our legs were too tired. Day two was in the city to explore the Medieval streets, eat some great Portuguese food, get a great history lesson and sample some more wines and liquors.

Whether you are often on a bike or looking to get into biking this is one of the best ways to explore Evora and the region.

  October 2019 in a pandemic-free world seems an age away. Reminiscing to keep the spirits up I would like to provide highlights of the self-guided cycle tour of the Alentejo... read more Castles and Wine that we took in those carefree days. Looking back it was bliss. It was an amazing route starting in Arraiolas (bussed there from Lisbon) we met Maria and Joanna at the old convent pousada and tested bikes and received our briefing. This is a fascinating little town which has a history of rug weaving/ embroidery dating back to the Moors presence in the 12th century, with an excellent museum. On to Evora with its Roman ruins and amazing walled city, and surrounding megalithic sites of awe. Tiny historic villages, some almost ghost-like were navigated and picnics eaten in the shade of the parish church in the central square. Obrigada-ing to the friendly locals. We visited a pottery studio in S. Pedro do Corval where the family has a connection to Best Cycling- such a friendly warm welcome. And then the steep climb up to the mythical Monsaraz to spend a precious night in the stars, wandering the narrow streets after the tourists had all left. Rode through marble quarries near Vila Viçosa and Estemoz. And lived like kings and queens in the pousada palaces. An amazing route through history, friendly people and accessible restaurants and cafes. Bikes never let us down, and the taxi delivery of our suitcases between rides faultless. The accomodation arrangements all perfect. All in all I wish we were back there again. Stay well Portugal and see you again soon. Thankyou Portugal Best Cycling. …

  October 2019 in a pandemic-free world seems an age away. Reminiscing to keep the spirits up I would like to provide highlights of the self-guided cycle tour of the Alentejo... read more Castles and Wine that we took in those carefree days. Looking back it was bliss. It was an amazing route starting in Arraiolas (bussed there from Lisbon) we met Maria and Joanna at the old convent pousada and tested bikes and received our briefing. This is a fascinating little town which has a history of rug weaving/ embroidery dating back to the Moors presence in the 12th century, with an excellent museum. On to Evora with its Roman ruins and amazing walled city, and surrounding megalithic sites of awe. Tiny historic villages, some almost ghost-like were navigated and picnics eaten in the shade of the parish church in the central square. Obrigada-ing to the friendly locals. We visited a pottery studio in S. Pedro do Corval where the family has a connection to Best Cycling- such a friendly warm welcome. And then the steep climb up to the mythical Monsaraz to spend a precious night in the stars, wandering the narrow streets after the tourists had all left. Rode through marble quarries near Vila Viçosa and Estemoz. And lived like kings and queens in the pousada palaces. An amazing route through history, friendly people and accessible restaurants and cafes. Bikes never let us down, and the taxi delivery of our suitcases between rides faultless. The accomodation arrangements all perfect. All in all I wish we were back there again. Stay well Portugal and see you again soon. Thankyou Portugal Best Cycling.

  This was our first trip to Portugal, and we loved having a guided tour. We did this tour in early June when the weather was unseasonably cool, but great for... read more biking. It was too cold to get into the water, but the scenery was beautiful....More

  Exploring Evora on e-Bikes - We had an amazing time exploring the beautiful Alentejo region with Mario on our Cycling in Paradise Tour.

We stayed seven nights at the farmhouse and did five... read more different routes over the week, each with a different theme. We saw and learned so much about the region and about Portugal. It was so relaxing not to have to pack and un-pack in between stops.

We used e-bikes which made the trip so much more relaxing and Mario tailored our days to our interests and our energy levels. We had a couple of really hot days for October so it was nice to not have to pedal so hard going up the hills! We still felt happily tired at the end of the day.

Alentejo has amazing food and wine and we had plenty of both. Some of our most memorable meals were in little local places along the way that we probably never would have found on our own.

We especially enjoyed visiting the historic University in Evora, the cork factory, the prickly pear farm, and the Fitapreta winery.

Mario was an amazing guide and Dina, Joana and the rest of the Turaventur staff made our trip extra special.

  Quite literally, from the minute we met Jorge and Mario our fantastic guides, we were treated like royalty. Everything was about how my wife and I could have the best... read more experience in Portugal. Until our last day we had a ball and easily the best holiday of a lifetime. We did two back to back tours, Atlantic coast & Wild Algarve and can thoroughly recommend both. We saw the beauty of the Alentejo region and some of the best sights in the Algarve. We ate the best food daily. How the lads managed to provide varying picnics daily and also give us the opportunity to sample such a range of Portuguese food for the length of our tours beats me. The range of beautiful wines selected was spectacular. The bikes - excellent quality, 27 gears, much of my time spent in the granny gear! The guides - wonderful guys, interesting, humorous, knowledgeable, friendly. The scenery - spectacular. The picnics - unreal. The accommodation - we did select the upgrade and were delighted with the rooms and hotel facilities. The cycling - we felt really safe with Mario and Jorge, they prepared us thoroughly each day as to what was ahead for the day, they stopped before any serious hazards to warn us beforehand, we learnt such a lot of cycling tips for the off road sections. The admin - We found the handling of our booking to be excellent. With the changing government Covid travel requirements, our flights were cancelled twice, but nothing was too much trouble. Our hotels were all rebooked and alternatives sorted for those unavailable. This was all achieved without any hassle by the admin staff. The itinerary provided was detailed and the daily trips and routes well laid out and referred to regularly. We found no fault at all with this holiday. It was without doubt the best holiday we ever had, thanks in no small way to Jorge and Mario's efforts. …

  Amazing people! - Mario, Joanna & Fidel the best riding experience ever!
They are so kind, funny, thoughtful and made the entire experience fun. As a first time rider I struggled through... read more the different terrains but they constantly motivated us and the lunches were honestly the best thing to look forward to. Highly recommend the upgrades and the beautiful experience with beautiful Portuguese people. Joanna is a fun, loving and safe driver. Mario is thoughtful and funny. Fidel is the best at motivating and funny stories.
Honestly one of the best holidays I ever had!
I will be keeping in touch with them all and I hope they will visit Australia one day so I can return the beautiful hospitality they extended to us.

  Cycle the Alentejo on South Atlantic coast of Portugal - This was a mountain bike experience we did not expect as rated beginner to intermediate-nothing beginner about it. Fitting all the bikes at the start was aproblem as did not... read more go to bike shop and one bike was the wrong size. Local company Megasport did respond promtly. No paper maps were provided and it we had not had a tech. expert with us, we could never have found the way.
However the hotels were good with excellant breakfasts. The beaches along the coast are beautiful to walk-they are surfing beaches so swimming not an option.